| Christian Standard Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1For freedom, Christ set us free. Stand firm then and don't submit again to a yoke of slavery. | 1So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. |
| 2Take note! I, Paul, am telling you that if you get yourselves circumcised, Christ will not benefit you at all. | 2Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you. |
| 3Again I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to do the entire law. | 3I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses. |
| 4You who are trying to be justified by the law are alienated from Christ; you have fallen from grace. | 4For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace. |
| 5For we eagerly await through the Spirit, by faith, the hope of righteousness. | 5But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us. |
| 6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision accomplishes anything; what matters is faith working through love. | 6For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love. |
| 7You were running well. Who prevented you from being persuaded regarding the truth? | 7You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? |
| 8This persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. | 8It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom. |
| 9A little leaven leavens the whole batch of dough. | 9This false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough! |
| 10I myself am persuaded in the Lord you will not accept any other view. But whoever it is that is confusing you will pay the penalty. | 10I am trusting the Lord to keep you from believing false teachings. God will judge that person, whoever he is, who has been confusing you. |
| 11Now brothers and sisters, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. | 11Dear brothers and sisters, if I were still preaching that you must be circumcised—as some say I do—why am I still being persecuted? If I were no longer preaching salvation through the cross of Christ, no one would be offended. |
| 12I wish those who are disturbing you might also let themselves be mutilated! | 12I just wish that those troublemakers who want to mutilate you by circumcision would mutilate themselves. |
| 13For you were called to be free, brothers and sisters; only don't use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love. | 13For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. |
| 14For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself. | 14For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” |
| 15But if you bite and devour one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another. | 15But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another. Living by the Spirit’s Power |
| 16I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh. | 16So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. |
| 17For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don't do what you want. | 17The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. |
| 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. | 18But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. |
| 19Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, | 19When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, |
| 20idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, | 20idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, |
| 21envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I am warning you about these things--as I warned you before--that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. | 21envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. |
| 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, | 22But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, |
| 23gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things. | 23gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! |
| 24Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. | 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. |
| 25If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. | 25Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. |
| 26Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. | 26Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another. |
| The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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